My 2019 Favorite Things Gift Guide

When I first got the Kreg Multi Mark I didn't realize how much I would love it. But after having it for 6 months, I think I need a second one.

Not only do I use it to make measurements when doing woodworking projects, but I have even found it extremely useful for all kinds of crafting too (including paper crafting).

The Kreg Multi Mark can be used at a 45 degree angle, straight or 90 degree. I love to lock in a measurement and then quickly repeat it over and over. It also make easy work of measuring small things that the measuring tape can be a challenge with. 

Plus it's the perfect stocking stuffer! It's small, inexpensive and wicked useful.

A good glue gun is a priority, as any good craft can tell you. I prefer the miniature ones so they are easy to hold and give me less glue at once.

My old one was starting to wear out (many years of abuse) and I was trying to find a suitable replacement. I tried a few cheap no-name ones and they barely worked. After a couple hours of use they ended up in the trash.

So I looked at the brand on the one I had been using for years, and went looking for another one of them. It was a Surebonder glue gun.

I couldn't find the exact same mini I was using, but instead decided to take a chance and try the mini glue gun with the precision tip. Now I am in love!

The tiny tip helps me to easily place the hot glue, even in hard to reach places. It heats the glue up nicely and is easy to hold. I know I will never buy another brand of glue gun again. 

I have sung my praise for the Kreg Jig many, many times. Even before I started a blog, I bought my first Kreg Jig. It was because of it that I felt the confidence I needed to learn woodworking.

But if you are not sure you want to spend the $100 needed to get the Kreg Jig K4 or K5, you are going to love the 300 series. 

I was lucky enough to partner with Kreg to promote the release of the new jig and found it super easy to use. Plus with the $40 price range for the Kreg 320 (with all the features), it is perfect for a beginner. 

So if know someone who wants wants to try their hand at woodworking, this would be a great option!

If we were to look at my most used piece of furniture, aside from my dining room table, it would be my craft table. This one was made so easily with just some inexpensive bookcases.

But the best part of this craft table is that the table top has a full sized cutting mat! I can quickly cut fabric, paper crafts, etc. right on the table top. 

The cutting mat also gets covered in glue, stain, paint, and more. I can wipe it off and keep going. Or when it gets to the point that the cutting mat is too worn, I can easily replace it. And the craft table below looks just like new!

A couple years ago I bought a tiny Dash air fryer and found many ways to use it, but it was not big enough for making a full meal for our family. So I upgraded this year to a 6 qt air fryer and it was a game changer!

The air fryer makes reheating things so easy. And they heat up much nicer than in a microwave. Plus I use it to make dinner all the time.

Cooking chicken breasts to toss into pasta or a salad is so quick in the air fryer. And the insides are super juicy (even if you accidentally forget and leave them in too long).

Or cook up some roasted potatoes with herbs and you will never want French fries again! They are that good. 

We have a wood burning fireplace in our living room, but it's was not always practical to light a fire when use the room for just an hour here or there. However, the room was always a little chilly in the winter, until we added an electric log heater to it.

The electric log heater is basically a space heater, but it looks like logs that are crackling and burning. It sits nicely in the fireplace and plugs in. Plus it has a remote so you can turn it on (or off) without having to get up.

Now when we are enjoying our living room, we can switch on the heater to take the chill off the room. And it gives us the look of a real burning fire without having to lug in wood from the cold. 

Over the last 2 years I have fallen in love with yoga. It has helped me to be strong and flexible, even as I am getting older than I would like to admit. And yoga was so easy to love with the help of Sarah Beth.

She is an online yoga instructor. She shares videos on YouTube and then when you fall in love with her calming voice and beautiful instructions, you can upgrade to her membership app for more (and longer) videos. 

Plus this year she released her own yoga mat. I was so excited to buy one and it did not disappoint. I take it everywhere I go so I can get in my yoga everyday. And it is machine washable too!

My friend Alison from House of Hepworths told us about Kendra Scott on our recent trip to Austin, TX. She is a local jewelry designer and her flagship store is on South Congress.

We went in and I was instantly in love! The Color Bar where you can design your own pieces was right up my alley. And we left with a beautiful pendant that I wear all the time now.

And the good news is you can get her jewelry online too! I already have a list of ideas for Santa to bring me.

I don't wear make-up very often, but when I do, I get super irritated with mascara. If it cannot make it through the day without flakes, under-eye smears or feeling annoying on my lashes I toss it. 

Plus I need it to wash off easily at the end of the day and be nourishing for the lashes. Well I finally found the magic mascara in Wander Beauty's Mile High Club mascara.

Now I know on those days I do wear make-up, I don't have to worry about how my mascara is fairing in the afternoon!

Okay, this one is a litlte harder to just buy for Christmas. But anyone that loves plants (someone you might call a crazy plant lady) would probably love the joy and challenge of propagating their own plants.

I made a propagation station out of paper and have already planted 4 new plants that I grew from clippings!

So i fyou know someone who love plants, why not give them a fun way to propagate their own plants. Or propagate some that you have and give them the the little starters to nurture and grow.